Number The Stars
by throughthedarkersideofthings
Summary: "We don't like that man." From the beginning, even as babies, the Potter girls did not trust Dumbledore. The wizarding world is definitely not prepared for two Potter girls who are far too smart – and know it. And when the girls learn that someone intends to manipulate them to their will, there is going to be hell to pay. Au with twin!fem!Ravenclaw!Powerful!Raised-By-Sirius!Harry .
1. The Chess Master's Mistake

_"We don't like that man." From the beginning, even as babies, the Potter girls did not trust Dumbledore. Now, ten years later, the Potter twins Beatrice and Meredith are re-entering the wizarding world, and it is definitely not prepared for two Potter girls who are far too smart – and know it. And when the girls learn that someone intends to manipulate them to their will, there is going to be hell to pay. Au with twin!fem!Ravenclaw!Powerful!Raised By Sirius!Harry. _

_Instead of being raised by the Dursleys, they were raised by their proper guardian – Sirius. By a stroke of luck, two ministry workers happened to witness the conflict with Sirius and Peter, and Sirius was never a convict, while Peter is still on the run. Dumbledore still wanted them with the Dursleys, but Sirius informed him that he had blood adopted the girls when they were infants – Lily's idea – and that he was genetically one third their parent._

_The girls were raised in the Black castle, only seeing Sirius, Remus, and the Muggles they went to school with. They are aware that they're wizards and know that they're well-known in the Wizarding World, but don't know exactly how well. They know they're being kept in the Muggle world until they're old enough to attend Hogwarts. _

_Now, however, they're about to turn eleven. Who will be surprised more - the girls, at the level of their fame, or the Wizarding World, at how different the girls are than they thought they would be?_

**_This story will contain some Dumbledore bashing - For-The-Greater-Good!Dumbledore herein - and same-sex pairings in the far future, not graphically explored, but mentioned. For pictures of how I see the characters, their rooms, pets, clothes, etc., see the album link on my profile - warning: spoilers._**

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_Chapter One: The Chess Master's Mistake_

The twinkle was still there, even if Albus's plan had fallen through spectacularly.

Two red haired girls with far-too-large, far-too-smart eyes looked out at him from the crib in the Hogwarts infirmary. One was called Beatrice Mabel Potter and the other was Meredith Bethany Potter. Albus couldn't tell them apart; even the newly scabbed-over scars on their foreheads were on the same side – the right.

The plan had been simple: it was irrevocable that the Dark Lord would target either the Longbottoms or the Potters. Albus had expected Voldemort to go for the Longbottom child – Nathan, he thought his name was – simply because he was a boy, but then again there was no fathoming the mind of a Dark Wizard. Voldemort had gone for the two small Potter girls, and, like Dumbledore had expected, killed their parents, but was destroyed when he attempted to kill them.

However, everything had gone downhill from there. The two girls were supposed to go straight to the aunt and uncle's home in Surrey, but then that Sirius Black had to go meddling in things. All of that would have been fine as well – Dumbledore had expected Sirius to track down his best friend's betrayer, Peter Pettigrew, and try and apprehend him himself. Dumbledore then expected Pettigrew to kill Sirius, perhaps, or fake his own murder to frame him, but while Peter _had_ tried to frame Sirius for his murder, two blasted employees from the ministry of magic – Amelia Bones and Mafalda Hopkirk – had seen everything, and therefore now everyone knew that Peter was guilty (even though he had still not been caught). Albus did not want Sirius murdered or in prison, of course, but it would have all been for the greater good. Now, Sirius was on his way to Hogwarts castle to take the two girls away to Black Castle to be raised.

Dumbledore sighed. His plan was going to need some rethinking, that was for certain. If the two girls had gone to their aunt and uncle's home, there may have been some hope of salvaging it; Petunia Dursley, sister to Lily Potter, had always hated her younger sibling, and Dumbledore knew that the Dursley family would not have been kind to Beatrice and Meredith. Obviously Dumbledore did not in any way condone the abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of children, but this was all _for the greater good_. If the Potter girls had gone to stay with their aunt and uncle, chances were that they would arrive at Hogwarts meek, timid, and more than ready to accept friendship from anyone. That would have made the girls perfect for his plan, but now…

Still, if it were up to the older man, Beatrice and Meredith would still have been going to their relative's home – the better to keep them isolated from the Wizarding World until they were older, and therefore more impressionable towards the beliefs that were, in the end, right. However, in a turn of events that Dumbledore hadn't anticipated, Sirius informed him that James and Lily had performed a blood adoption ceremony with the girls when they were mere months old. Therefore, he was one-third their parent, and his rights were absolute.

Dumbledore shuddered at the thought of what the two girls would be like the next time he saw them. Haughty mischief makers like their godfather, no doubt. And being heirs to both the ancient Potter and Black families, perhaps the girls may even believe in Blood Supremacy. They wouldn't be right for their future tasks at all, no.

But…perhaps…

Slowly, Albus Dumbledore began to smile. Oh yes, he knew just how to save what was left of his plan.

At that moment, the door to the hospital wing burst open, and Sirius Black ran into the room. He had not yet seen the girls in person since Voldemort's apparent defeat; he and Albus had been communicating through the Floo Network and Patronuses.

"BEATRICE! MEREDITH!" Sirius yelled, running down the aisle to the end, where Albus stood beside the crib that had once been a bed. The two girls burst into happy giggles and baby-talk as they saw him, holding up their arms to be picked up. Sirius grabbed them both, laughing happily as well as he spun them around in a circle. For a moment, Albus stared in shock. All the children had done since he arrived in the hospital wing to check on them was glare with their unsettling gazes, but now they seemed like they had never been happier.

Now Sirius was busy cooing nonsense at the two children, who talked animatedly back in complete gibberish. Dumbledore suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

He cleared his throat until Sirius quieted down and turned towards him.

"Now Sirius, since you have your heart set on taking the girls, I must suggest some ground rules." Sirius nodded skeptically for him to go on. Dumbledore readied himself to lay out his points quickly and then explain before Sirius could interrupt. "Firstly, that you send the girls to a Muggle primary school for their pre-Hogwarts education. Second, you should keep them away from the Wizarding World completely until they are eleven years old. Third, they should see no other witch or wizard except for yourself until the same time. Now before you protest," he held up his hand as Sirius looked ready to interrupt. "I am only suggesting these things because I think the girls will be safer that way, for one, and because the level of fame they have already achieved in these few short hours is enough to turn any child's head – imagine what that fame will grow to in the years to come! There will be books and songs about them – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Beatrice and Meredith Potter Day in the future!"

"I suppose you could be right…" Sirius said slowly, and Dumbledore knew he had won. "I wouldn't want them to feel smothered by their fame so quickly, or to become spoiled by it either…Yes, yes I think that's just what we'll do."

Maybe, Albus thought, just maybe…his plan could be salvaged after all.

But little did Albus Dumbledore know that the twin's so-called 'baby talk', was anything but. Perhaps he should not have been so quick to dismiss the two children simply because they were small and spoke in a way he couldn't understand, but then again, perhaps it was better that he did not know what Beatrice and Meredith Potter were trying to tell their godfather…

_We don't like that man, Sirius!_

_Now we don't. He's not very nice. Just stared at us the whole time and mumbled about a 'plan' and some relatives of ours we were supposed to go to – _

_And about you and Uncle Peter. Very strange, that man!_

_Very strange! But Sirius, we miss mummy and daddy! _

_We remember a scary man came to the door – _

_And daddy said for mummy to run with us, but while she was trying to activate the Portkey in our room, he came in and used a green light to make her fall down!_

_Then he tried to use that green light on us, only it didn't work and we think he exploded or something because everything went white, and then when we could see again, part of the house was gone, the man was gone – _

_–And our heads hurt really bad! That man says – _

_–That mummy and daddy are _dead_, Sirius! He says they're not coming back!_

_But we don't believe him, do we?_

_No we don't!_

_And we don't believe that man is gone either!_

_Nu-uh!_

_We think we can find a way to bring mummy and daddy back when we're bigger, but we think that bad guy will come back all on his own. _

_And we don't like that._

_No!_

_We're going to learn a lot about magic when we get big, so that when he comes back we can kill him once and for all!_


	2. The Zoo

**Thanks to everyone who followed and favourited! I would be endlessly grateful if you would review though; I love to know what people think about my stories.**

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_Chapter Two: The Zoo_

Beatrice Mabel Potter and Meredith Bethany Potter were soon-to-be-eleven year old twins, and they were alike down to the strange lighting-bolt scars on their foreheads and their tendency to pry too much into the affaires of others. The only way to tell them apart was by their clothes, unless they had decided to dress to confuse on that particular day. Both had too-large bright green eyes, pale skin, and very long bright red hair that reached their calves. They had small heart-shaped faces, slightly upturned noses, and pursed their lips when they were thinking or worried. They could almost always read each other's minds, could speak three languages fluently, and loved books almost more than their family.

But even with their matching scars and 'freakishly long hair', as their teacher liked to call it, the two Potter girls still looked ordinary enough that none of the children they went to school with suspected that they were, in fact, witches.

At home, which was a large castle just outside of the town, looking to all Muggles who passed by to be an ordinary house, Beatrice and Meredith Potter had spell books and cauldrons, broomsticks and owls, and their guardian, Sirius Black, owned a wand. In fact, in the Wizarding World, Beatrice and Meredith were famous.

When they were just more than a year old, an evil wizard named Voldemort came to their home with the intention of killing them for reasons unknown. He had quickly done away with their parents, James and Lily, but when he turned to kill the two young twins…he couldn't. Voldemort was seemingly destroyed that night and hadn't been seen since, while Beatrice and Meredith were left with only their lightning-bolt scars. Voldemort's disappearance, coupled with the fact that the Killing Curse had never failed before, not even against much more powerful fully grown witches and wizards, made the Potter twins heroes in the eyes of the Wizarding World.

However, Beatrice and Meredith had never been into this world – or at least they hadn't since they were babies. The only wizards they knew were Sirius, their godfather, and Remus, his closest friend. Sirius sometimes went in to the Wizarding World to purchase things like books and robes, and also for his job as an Auror, which in the Wizarding World was the equivalent of the police, but the two girls never went with him. This was all because of Albus Dumbledore's suggestions the night that Beatrice and Meredith's parents had been murdered. Even though the twins were often frustrated because they couldn't play with Wizard Children like themselves and had never been to the famous Diagon Alley, they could admit that it was probably better for them to avoid the Wizarding World until they were old enough to go to the Wizarding School, Hogwarts.

And that time was rapidly approaching.

It was almost the end of the school year at the Muggle School that Beatrice and Meredith had been attending – Wingmore Primary School. Beatrice and Meredith were beyond excited; though they loved learning and liked the school well enough, they couldn't wait to learn magic spells and visit the giant library and meet other wizards and witches and make _proper_ potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (All the _exciting_ potions needed a wand.)

Today was the day of the traditional Wingmore end-of-year school trip. They would go to historical sights, amusements parks, botanical gardens, and other such places. This year, the children were going to the zoo.

Beatrice and Meredith were sitting in the car with Carmella Jarvis, her mother, and three other children. Mrs. Jarvis had been one of the volunteers to drive some of the children to the zoo (Sirius would have volunteered himself, except he had no idea how to drive a car, and didn't even know where the key was supposed to go), which was not good for the twins. Carmella Jarvis was infamous for her hatred of the twins, always teasing them because of their often-tangled hair and exceptionally good marks. Beatrice and Meredith, to Carmella's endless frustration, were always ready with excellent comebacks. The three other children, Doris Brewer, Barney Goodman, and Scott Hudson, were Carmella's friends, and shared her views on the Potter girls.

It was uncomfortably quiet in the car. The other children were obviously reluctant to tease Beatrice and Meredith in from of Mrs. Jarvis. So, naturally, the twins used this to their advantage.

"_Domina soror_," Beatrice said, turning to her sister, "Perhaps _quidam fun_ is in order."

Meredith grinned. The other children _hated_ when they spoke in other languages – especially when they spoke half in English and half in Foreign, as Carmella and her friends called it. Sirius had suggested they learn Latin as soon as they could read and write English, telling them it would be very useful once they got to Hogwarts, since most spells were Latin based. However, the two children liked learning other languages and had needed no convincing.

"_O vere_," Meredith agreed. "But whatever shall we do _illis_?"

"O," Beatrice said slowly, "Nothing _etiam intelliguntur. Computatione aliqua forte_?"

_"Maxime_." Meredith agreed. "_Una, duae, tres_..."

"_Quatuor, quinque, sex_–"

"_Septem, octo, novem_–"

The other children were turning steadily red with anger, having no idea that Beatrice and Meredith were simply counting in Latin. Luckily, they were just pulling in to the zoo lot, and Carmella, Doris, Barney, and Scott had no chance to do anything to the siblings, because they were joining up with the rest of their year and their teachers and heading in to the zoo. All the children were provided cheap ice pops at the entrance, and soon they were wandering around and looking at the animals.

While the other children, for the most part, grew bored quickly, Beatrice and Meredith were having the time of their lives. They loved animals – in fact, at their home they had several owls (a common wizarding animal) and Meredith had a Kneazle, which was a sort of magical breed of cat. What the twins had been looking forward to the most, however, was the reptile house.

It was the only secret Beatrice and Meredith kept from their godfather. They _loved_ snakes – really, really loved them. But they knew that they could never admit this to their godfather. While Sirius loved them and they knew he always would, the twins couldn't bear thinking about how disappointed he would be if he knew that they liked the official animal of the only Hogwarts house he hated. The twins couldn't help it; for as long as they could remember, they had been drawn to snakes.

"Ugh, it won't _move_!" Carmella was moaning from somewhere nearby. Meredith and Beatrice turned from their examination of a bearded lizard to see Carmella, Doris, Barney, and Scott pressing their faces against the glass case of the biggest snake in the reptile house.

Scott rapped hard on the glass and yelled, "Hey you, move!"

Beatrice and Meredith sighed and walked over.

"Just leave him alone," Beatrice said firmly. "He's sleeping."

Carmella rolled her eyes at them, but there was a teacher nearby, so they skulked off.

"Sorry about that." Meredith said to the snake. "You must get that all the time."

The snake blinked sleepily and raised its head. It nodded.

Beatrice and Meredith raised their eyebrows at each other. They didn't know snakes could nod. Beatrice glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn't. So the twins turned back to the snake.

"You can understand us?" Beatrice asked slowly. The snake hissed and nodded again. It glanced at Carmella and her friends, then shook its head, as if to say 'I get that all the time'.

"It must be horrible." Meredith said.

The snake nodded vigorously.

"We've never talked to a snake before, have we?" said Beatrice, leaning closer to the glass.

"No, we haven't!"

"Do you talk to people often?"

The snake shook its head.

"You're from Brazil, right?" Meredith asked, gesturing towards the plaque in front of the snake's cage. It nodded again.

"Was it nice there?" Beatrice said. "Do you miss your family?"

The snake jabbed its tail at the sign.

"Oh…" the twins said. There was a line of text at the bottom they hadn't read, which wasn't like them: THIS SPECIMEN WAS BRED AT THE ZOO.

"Us too." Meredith said.

"Our parents died when we were little, but luckily we still have our godfather. Where–?"

Suddenly, Barney appeared behind them, saw the snake, and began yelling. "CARMELLA! DORIS, SCOTT, COME LOOK AT THIS SNAKE!"

Meredith and Beatrice cried out as they were suddenly pushed hard onto the ground. They winced, looking at their scraped palms and elbows, then turned to glare at Carmella, the one who had pushed them. Her face was pressed against the glass, as were the other's, all chattering excitedly about the snake, and then something unexpected happened.

The glass vanished.

It was suddenly just _gone_, and Carmella, Doris, Barney, and Scott fell head over heels into the pool inside the snake cage. They all screamed bloody murder as the snake seemed to glare right at them, then slithered out onto the floor.

Beatrice and Meredith stared with wide eyes as the snake stopped before them.

"Brazzzzzzzzil here I come. Thankssssss, amigosssss." It hissed.

"A–anytime!" they both said nervously, grinning. The snake slithered for the exit, hissing at people's feet and snapping playfully at their ankles. There was a sudden stampede for the exits as everyone tried to escape from the snake. Meanwhile, Carmella, Doris, Barney, and Scott began to scream and yell yet again, drawing the Potter twin's attention back to them, only to see that the glass was back in place, and the four bullies still on the other side. Several parents and teachers ran forward, Mrs. Jarvis at the front, banging on the glass and calling for help, but the twins had to get up quickly and hide in the crowd so their laughs wouldn't be heard.

After many apologies by the zoo manger and the reptile keeper, who were both nearly as hysterical as the children themselves (_"But where did the glass go?"_), they were finally all back in their cars. Carmella, Doris, Barney, and Scott were all wearing blankets given to them by the zoo, and Beatrice and Meredith had been allowed to ride back home with another group, which was lucky because they didn't want the four children to suspect they had anything to do with it.

While the twins had done accidental magic many times in the past (and also not-so-accidental magic), it had rarely happened at school. There were only four times in the past, in fact – once when Beatrice had turned their teacher's wig blue, once when Carmella had tried to take one of Meredith's books and it shot about a hundred pages into her face, once when the twins had found a hurt bird and 'accidently' healed it, and once when they had been running from Carmella and her friends after playing a prank on them, and somehow ended up on the school roof.

While all these incidents were written off (for obvious reasons) by their teachers, the twins and Sirius had always known what was really going on. Things had never gone this far, though. To make the glass disappear and then reappear, and then to be able to understand a snake for a moment? That was powerful magic, the two siblings thought. They decided not to mention it to Sirius; he always tended to get nervous when they did anything that was very advanced – besides reading, at least. Beatrice and Meredith knew that this was because of their fame, and that Sirius was worried that if they were very powerful, people would try to use them. But deep down, in a place that was rarely explored, was a thought that, perhaps, the only thing special about them other than their scars were their brains – that perhaps, the Potter twins weren't very powerful at all.


End file.
